The New Mews
by XxHeatherxHell-AngelxX
Summary: creative title,don't you think? feh. Ok,this is a Tokyo Mew Mew / Naruto x-over . Akashe Uchiha,a ninja from Konoha, works for Orochimaru and "runs away" to Tokyo where she ends up becoming a Mew Mew.
1. prologue

The New Mews

-prologue-

And to think that I was almost a normal girl. . .I mean, aside from the fact that I had the wolf demon, Hikaze, sealed inside me when I was born and that I inherited the Majyk powers from my mother's side of the family doing just about anything you could think of with those powers, I was normal. Well, okay, maybe I wasn't normal, especially after Orochimaru had put his curse mark on me. What's a girl to do when everyone expects her to be the best? If they hadn't pushed me to my limit, then I would never have ran off to Tokyo in the first place.

**Three years ago:**

"Akashe, I want you to use the summoning jutsu to bring Okami-hime here," he told me. "She'd be a great animal to train with considering she's a wolf. She'll obey you."

"Why, because of Hikaze?" I questioned. " I refuse to use that demon's power, Orochi-sensei."

"Do it, Akashe. Or would you prefer to practice using the Healing Rampage Jutsu again?"

"You know I can't perform that jutsu more than once a day! It'll drain my chakra to the point of death if I do! Why would you even bring that up?" I yelled at him. "I thought you were supposed to keep me alive? Wasn't that what you promised my father when I was born? That you would never use me to destroy Konohagakure and that you'd train me so I could live up to the expectations of the village? Besides that, wasn't it you that said you'd never let anything bad happen to me because you love me?"

I headed for the door about to burst into tears. Kabuto slid in front of me and grabbed me. I fell to my knees trying to escape his grasp. He held onto me tightly as Orochimaru got up out of his chair. His yellow-green eyes told me that he was upset, but not like usual. He had Kabuto let me go as he dropped to one knee and kissed me on the cheek.

"Akashe, I do love you, more than you'll ever know. I want you to be strong, like your father was before he died. I'm only looking out for you until you can for yourself," he whispered in my ear. "I understand that you're trying your hardest, but I have to push you further or you may never be able to surpass Itachi's skills. Maybe you should take a break."

"Orochi-sensei," I held back my tears then suddenly wrapped my arms around him. "I'm sorry."

I kissed him gently then snapped my fingers. I sat on the bed in my room in an instant. I was barely breathing as I stood up to grab some clothes out of my closet. _Oh, no_. I thought. _That was my first kiss. . .with Orochi-sensei! Oh my god_. I was worried about what he would think, but I didn't have the time to go back. I had to get away from the ninja world for a while, if not forever. I picked out the three cutest outfits I had and shoved them in a bag. Then I snapped my finger to go to Tokyo.

When I got there I was sitting in a rather large maple tree. I hopped down from the branch and started walking up a nearly invisible path. Trees and bushes covered the path for about five yards then opened up to a large field. There was a large building in the center of the field. The path I was on led to the back door. I followed it up to the building and then went in the back door even though I knew I could get in trouble.

Once I was in the door, I noticed that there were two ways to go. I could go either up the stairs into the kitchen or down a flight of stairs to only god knew where. I chose to go into the kitchen. I put on a hat that was in my bag and walked in. There inside the door, standing next to me was a high school boy with blonde hair. He looked down at me with icy blue eyes and looked like he was expecting an explanation. That's when I turned around to run, but he caught me.

"No need to leave in such a hurry, kid," he said to me and pulled me into the room. "Why'd you decide to come in the back? Were you expecting to find something?"

"Let go of me, that hurts!" I yelled and tried to punch him, but instead I knocked my hat off. "Let me go, now damn it!"

He let go of me for a second then grabbed me again and made me face him. He was in shock as he looked me in the eyes. I didn't know what he was thinking but whatever it was I don't think I wanted to know. Then suddenly he disappeared as I blinked. I looked down at my feet after a second. When in the hell did that cat get there?!

"Ryou, is everything alright back-" a older boy came into the back room. He had long brown hair and dark brown eyes. "Excuse me Miss, but you shouldn't be back here."

"You're telling me. But some guy with blonde hair stopped me from leaving. He just disappeared though and then this cat was here."

"Blonde hair? That would be Ryou. But where is the cat at?" he asked as he looked around. "Alto, come here you crazy cat. Can I ask you a question Miss?"

"Um, sure. By the way, my name is Uchiha."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Uchiha. I'm Keiichiro Akasaka. Did Ryou say anything before he disappeared?"

"No, he just vanished after staring at me for a minute. I don't know how he got away so fast, all I did was blink and then this cat appeared."

"Oh, my, that's not good. Miss Uchiha, would you excuse me for one second? I'd like to talk to you with Ryou. I believe I know where he is."

"Okay. Where should I wait?"

"Go through that door and through that room into the dining room," he pointed as he picked up the cat and headed towards the basement. "I'll be with you shortly."

"Alright."

I started for the door and went into the room that he'd told me to go through. I would have gone into the dining room, but there was a statue of an animal that interested me. I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame to say the least. I walked up to the statue and stared into the animal's shining eyes. Then there was a flash of blood red light and all I could see were the silhouettes of two animals. The animals seemed to jump into my body and to my surprise, I didn't feel a thing. After what seemed like seconds, the room returned to normal.

Ryou and the other boy were standing there. Ryou was leaning against a mirror then held it up for me to look in. I was wearing a black and red outfit and I had ears and a tail! I stared in shock as I felt the ears and then I pulled on my tail. That hurt! What was going on?

"Sorry, Miss Uchiha, but I did tell you to go straight to the dining room," Keiichiro said to me. "Ryou, we need to-"

"I know, Keiichiro, but there's something about her. Just her aura made me transform. She has to be the one," he said, then turned to me. "Uchiha-chan, how old are you?"

"I'm thirteen. Why?"

"Thirteen? That's a bit young, Ryou."

"Yes, it is. I apologize for this in advance, Uchiha-chan."

Ryou walked up to me and pulled the pendant off of the collar to my outfit. Then he pushed me backwards. I could feel myself falling, slowly. Then Keiichiro walked behind me and caught me as everything went black.

The next day, I woke up in my room back in Otogakure. I had no memory of the day before except for when I had kissed Orochimaru. I got dressed and went to wake him up as usual, but when I went in his room, he was already awake. He sat up in his bed and beckoned for me to come to him. I walked over to his bed and sat on the edge of it, next to him.

"My precious, Akashe, I'm so glad you're alright. I was worried about you."

"Orochi-sensei," I hugged him tightly with my face pressed against his bare chest. "I love you!"


	2. Chapter 1 The First Night

The New Mews

Chapter 1 - The First Night

As I accepted the purple, metal plated hitiate from my new master, I noticed that Kadaj had been holding a silver and black pendant in his mouth. I tied the hitiate around my waist and knelt down. I put my hand out and he laid the pendant in it. Then I patted him on the head. His green eyes lit up happily and he wagged his fluffy, silver tail.

"That's a good fox, Kadaj," I complimented. "But what the hell is this thing?"

"It's your transformation pendant," Kadaj said. "That's all I can tell you. Go to Tokyo and find Ryou Shirogane. He's the only one who can explain."

"But Kadaj, I haven't been to Tokyo for three years and I can't leave Sensei, not in his condition."

"Now hold on a second," Sensei spoke up with an assertiveness that not I nor anyone else had ever heard from him before. "You know I'll be fine here if you leave. You're the second best medical ninja I have. As long as Kabuto-kun is here I'll be okay. Now go, and try not to get hurt, alright? I wouldn't want my favorite kunoichi to miss her chance at becoming stronger."

"Alright, I'll go," I smiled at him. "I'll bring you back someone good, Orochimaru-sensei, I promise. See you later."

With a snap of my fingers I was instantly in Tokyo. I stood in the center of a large, empty park. Well, I thought it was empty. After all, it was pitch black, with the exception of a few street lights. Then I saw the silhouette of a boy not much older than me.

"What are you doing out this late, pretty girl?"

He spoke as he came closer to me. I could tell that he was blonde by the way the light hit his hair. When he got closer I noticed that he had bright blue eyes. He was wearing blue jeans and a black, vinyl vest. I recognized him, but from where I couldn't recall.

"Hey, I know you!" I shouted as he stopped in front of me. "You're . . . crap! I can't remember."

"Wait, is that really you, Uchiha-chan? I can't believe you're here!"

"Whaa-," his name hit me. "Ryou-chan?!"

I jumped on him with a hug. We landed on the soft grass just off the walkway. He laughed as he pulled me to my feet. He kissed my forehead like someone would a dog. Then another familiar face approached us.

"You've gotten a little older and quite a bit taller, you know? But you're still a troublemaker."

"What do you know, Kei-chan?" I laughed then gave him a hug. "You haven't changed at all."

"True, but what are you doing here, Uchiha-chan? This isn't another of Orochimaru's plans, is it?"

"What?!"

I looked down to see the hitiate around my waist. I quickly untied it and shoved it in the small bag I brought with me. _Shit_. I'd forgotten to hide it before leaving Otogakure. Ryou and Keiichiro looked at me with disappointed faces. Now I felt terrible.

"So, did he send you here for something?"

"No, he let me come here of my own free will," I told them. "Which, by the way, I came to see you, Ryou-chan."

"Me?" he looked puzzled. "Why me?"

"Kadaj gave me this thingy," I showed him the pendant. "He told me you'd explain what it was for. So, what is it?"

"This. . .this is your MewMew pendant," he sounded shocked. "I can't believe he actually gave it to you. He must know that we need you.

"Did you say 'MewMew' ?" I asked. "Does that mean that I'm a Mew? But how is that even possible, Ryou-chan?"

"When you came to Tokyo three years ago, it was an accident. We never meant for you to become a mew, but you, well, were sort of chosen and before we knew what was going on, you became one."

"Ah, I see. So, I was a mistake, wasn't I?"

"Don't think about it like that. You're the best thing to happen to the Mew project," Keiichiro told me, which made me feel a bit better. "Now why don't we get to the mansion so you can rest."

"Wait, your guys' house? You guys live together?!"

"Yes, we do," Ryou said to me. "Why? Are you getting dirty thoughts?"

"Maybe. . ." I snickered, just thinking about them being 'like that' together. "So, how do you guys do it? I really want to know."

"Don't say that!" Ryou yelled at me. "We aren't like that."

"Of course you're not. But even if you were, I'd still love you guys."

"Here," Ryou was blushing as he handed the pendant back to me. "Transform before we go."

"Huh? What do I say?"

"Listen carefully, your heart will tell you."

"I have no heart."

"Oh, that's right, you don't," he said sarcastically. "Fine, listen to the voice in you're head."

"Okay then."

Everything was silent as I stood with the pendant against my chest. I listened hard for a good few minutes. I wasn't hearing anything but the wind rustling leaves around. Then I thought about what Orochimaru would say if he saw me like this; _"What's wrong with you? Can't you even pull off a simple transformation?"_ . Yeah, that's something he'd say to make me try harder, no doubt about it. Then a thought popped in my head.

"Let's try this," I said to the guys. "Mew Mocchi Metamorphosis!"

Those words came out of my mouth and I was covered in black, satin ribbons. They were wrapped around my arms, my legs, my chest, and my hips. Then thinner red ribbons became tied to me. In a burst of blood red light, I saw the black silhouettes of two animals. I stood with a pose in a black and red Mew outfit. I even had a black tiara with a red gem on it. My ears were mostly black, but were tipped with red and there were two red earrings in the right one, while the left had one red earring. My tail, which was fluffy and black, also had a red tip.

"Okay, I know I look really cute, but what is my animal?"

"Well, Mocchi, you have two animals, like Berry does. Your animals are a Japanese Black Fox and a Red Wolf," Ryou told me as he patted my head the same way I did Kadaj. "So, you're all canine. But you're the most adorable mixed-breed I've ever seen."

"He's exactly right," Keiichiro agreed with him. "Too bad you aren't a real animal, though. I'd love to see what a wolf-fox would look like."

"Oh, Kei-chan," I sighed. "Anyway, let's go, shall we?"

But before we could go anywhere, a giant bat-like creature flew at us. Its sharp claws extended outwards as it tried to grab us. Ryou and I jumped out of the way but Keiichiro didn't move in time. The bats claws ripped into his shoulder and blood went everywhere as he dove for the bush I had jumped into.

"Kei-chan, are you alright?!" I caught him, his badly injured shoulder landing on me. "Kei-chan, please stay right here. I'm going to fight it."

"Mocchi, don't! It's a chimera anima, you can't kill it!" he said, holding his shoulder. "We need to-"

"No, Keiichiro," Ryou said as he dodged the bat and landed next to us. "She can do it, you're bleeding, after all."

"What does his blood have to do with me winning, may I ask?"

""Mocchi, your power lies in blood, anyone's blood."

"What, how?"

"You're the Black Abyss Mew Mew, you're stronger using the darker elements in the world; moonlight, blood, and especially fire."

"I am an Uchiha; all of our attacks are based on fire."

"I know that. But what I'm saying is the elements are on your side; you're doused in blood and the moon's full tonight. You're more powerful now than you would be if you were in the second stage using that curse mark."

Really? I thought. That can't be possible, can it? I put Keiichiro on Ryou's lap and stood up. I walked out of the bush and the bat came for me. I wasn't afraid of it anymore.

I held out my hand and it started to glow crimson red as a katana appeared. After it had appeared, a shuriken holster showed up on my leg. They were the same as the ones I had used to fight in Konoha and Otogakure. I would have preferred something nicer and newer, but oh, well. At least I had experience fighting with these weapons.

"Black Fire Fury!" I shouted as I slung my katana at the bat. It busted into a flash of light. "What the hell?"

The creature had changed back into a regular bat and it flew away. But there was a fluffy thing floating around the air now. It came to me and rubbed its head on my cheek. It was cute!!

"Parasite destroyed, Mocchi!" It said, moving its big ears up and down. "Mocchi give Kaphi ride please?"

"Alright, cutie pie," I agreed. It shrunk to about a fourth of its original size and sat on my shoulder. "So, your name's Kaphi, is it?"

"Yes, yes."

The little . . .whatever it was had an all black body, big, red eyes, and a red pair of fox ears and tail. I couldn't help but smile at it. It was absolutely adorable. But I still wanted to know what it was. It floated over to Ryou and Keiichiro as they came out of the bush.

"Ryou, Mocchi do good job, yes?" Kaphi asked. "She stay, yes?"

"Yes, she did do good for her first time, K1-3, and yes, she is staying," Ryou told it. "That is, if she wants to. It is her choice."

"Trust me, I'm staying. I liked fighting that thing. But, Ryou-chan, what's that?" I pointed at Kaphi. "That's not the thing that caused the big bat, is it?"

"K1-3, or Kaphi, is a robot that we created to help you, and he eats the parasites that cause chimera anima. It seems that he likes you, that's good, since he's yours."

"He's mine? Really Ryou-chan? Thank you, he's so cute."

"Kaphi cute, Kaphi cute!" he shouted. "Home, now?"

"Yes, let's get home," I said, then turned to the guys. "We need to take care of that wound soon."

"Not so fast Mew Mew!" a voice shouted out. "You may have defeated my chimera anima, but you can't defeat your boss, can you?"

"What do you mean by that?"

An alien appeared out of nowhere and was holding a red sphere. He wore a black vest and baggy, black pants with boots. His hair was red like fire and he had brown eyes. He threw the sphere at Ryou and when it hit him, there was a flash of light. Then the alien disappeared.

"Ryou-chan!" I ran to him, fearing the worst. "Ryou-chan, please be okay."

Both Ryou and Keiichiro were lying on the ground, covered everywhere in bruises. They were both unconscious as I shook them. I returned to human form and tore the sleeve off my shirt. I wrapped it around Keiichiro's shoulder and pulled him next to Ryou. Then I started to cry.

"Now, now, don't cry, Akachan," said a voice behind me. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

"Huh?" I turned around. "Kabuto-chan?! What are you doing here?"

"I can only stay for a maximum of ten minutes, so we have to hurry."

"What do you mean?"

"We have to get them somewhere safe and use a healing jutsu, stupid."

"Mean to Mocchi, mean to Mocchi!" Kaphi shouted at him. "Bad!"

"What the hell is that?"

"Oh, this is Kaphi. He's a robot made especially for me," I told him. "Isn't he adorable?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Well, lets get them to the mansion," I snapped my fingers and we were in a large laboratory, which, I could only assume was part of the mansion. "Let's set them down on that couch over there, okay?"

"Alright."

Kabuto and I sat the guys on the couch. Then we prepared to use a healing jutsu for them. We decided to use the Recovery Splendor Jutsu, a medical jutsu that the two of us developed and perfected. I did the hand signs; dog, tiger, hare, rat, dog, snake, ram, dragon. Kabuto did the same.

"Inu, tora, u, ne, inu, mi, hitsuji, tatsu," we said together as he and I put our hands on their chests. "Recovery Splendor Jutsu."

It took us about three minutes to finish. When we were done, Kabuto told me he had to leave. I went to give him a high five, but he pulled me into a hug. I was surprised. He'd never hugged me before, ever.

"Kabuto-chan?"

"Akachan, don't come home," he pushed me backwards as he disappeared. "I mean it."

I sat there on the floor for a few minutes. All I could do was wonder. _What the hell was that about?_ I asked myself. _Don't come home? Why not?_ That didn't make any sense to me. But for some reason I listened to him and stayed in Tokyo.

After a few hours, Ryou and Keiichiro woke up. They didn't recall anything that had happened after I defeated the Chimera. I let Kaphi fill them in while I made them something to eat. Unlike most of the kunoichi my age, I knew how to make real food. I was pretty good at it.

I made the guys mandarin orange chicken with white rice, fried biscuits, and, for dessert, my infamous Chocolate Snow cake. They seemed to enjoy all of it; the even asked for seconds. I gave them whatever they asked for. It was the least I could do since they were attacked. I felt like it was my fault that they had gotten hurt.

After they had gotten done eating, I cleaned off the table. I took the dirty dishes into the kitchen and put them in the sink. I was about to wash them when something flashed outside the window in front of me. Then I jumped back as I saw a face staring at me. I shook my head and looked back to the window. Whatever it was, it was gone now.

"Mocchi-chan, is everything all right?" Ryou asked as he walked into the room. "I thought I heard something crash."

"Huh?" I looked down at the floor. There was a shattered plate at my feet. "Oh, sorry about that, Ryou-chan. I'll clean it up."

"I'll get it," he said as he bent down to pick up the pieces. "I want to know what happened that made you drop it?"

"There was a flash outside. It couldn't have been lightning, it was colorful, like a rainbow."

"Really? That doesn't sound good. What was it like?"

"Well, it flashed pink, then faded through the colors of the rainbow in order. It went pink, red, orange, yellow, green, then a teal-aqua color," I took a breath and continued, "to blue, indigo, and purple. Then it turned white, faded to gray, then it was gone. But I saw a face staring at me through the window just as it disappeared."

"Oh, this is just great," he said sarcastically. "We have a bit of a problem, Mocchi-chan."

"What do mean? What was that light?" I asked frantically. "And why did I see a face?"

"I'll explain it in the morning. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for you," he finished sweeping up the glass and took my hand. "Come on. Let's get you to bed."

"I'm not a little kid you know," I said and pulled my hand back. "You don't have to hold my hand."

"Alright, Mocchi-chan."

I grabbed my bag from underneath the counter, then Ryou led me up the curved staircase to a large hall. On each side of the hall there were six doors. Then at the very end of the hall there were two doors. The one on the right had a large "K" on it while the left one had an "R". I assumed that those were Ryou and Keiichiro's rooms. I was right because Keiichiro came out of the door on the right.

"Good night, Mocchi-chan," Keiichiro said to me as Ryou unlocked the door closest to his on the left side of the hallway. "Sleep tight, okay?"

"Will do, Kei-chan," I smiled and waved as I walked into the room. "Good night."

"Mocchi-chan, this is your room," Ryou flipped on the lights and handed me a key. "Like it?"

I stared at the room. It was painted blood red with black woodwork. The carpet was black and the curtains matched it well. There were four windows. One was on the side of the room while the other three were connected to each other forming a semi-hexagon. There was a built in seat under them and someone staring out them looked to the front yard.

The furniture was all black. There was a short, long dresser with an antique mirror attached to it. The bed was amazing. It was a canopy bed with black sheers to conceal yourself and red satin blankets. In the corner opposite the bed, there was a desk perfect for a computer or just to work on a project. I couldn't believe that this was my room.

"Ryou-chan, I've got no idea what to say," I was still in shock. "This room is so. . .Wow."

"I thought you might say something like that. Well, off to bed with you."

"Okay. Good night, Ryou-chan."

"Night, Mocchi-chan."

I dug through my bag for the pajamas I had thrown in it before I had left Otogakure. I dumped the bag on the floor and couldn't find them. _What the hell?_ I thought. _I could have sworn that my Akatsuki ones were in here_. I threw my stuff everywhere, then picked up something fluffy.

"Mocchi found Kaphi! Mocchi found Kaphi!" he said as he grew to his right size. "What Mocchi looking for?"

"Nothing really, just my pajamas," I sighed. "Have you seen them, Kaphi? They're black with a red cloud pattern. The shorts say 'ninja' across the back in white letters and the tank top says 'Akatsuki' on it."

"Yes, yes, Kaphi saw them," he dove into the pile of clothes and pulled out exactly what I described. "Here Mocchi goes."

"Thank you, Kaphi."

"Mocchi welcome."

I changed into my pajamas then opened what I thought was the closet door. It was no closet, it was a bathroom, complete with shower and bathtub. _Oh my god_. I couldn't believe that I had my own bathroom. I grabbed my toothbrush from my bag and went to the sink. I brushed my teeth, then washed my face. When I was done, I shut the lights off and climbed into my new bed.


	3. Chapter 2 Not Such a Dog Morning

The New Mews

Chapter 2 - Not Such a Dog Morning

There was a knock at my window around 5:30 in the morning that made me get up. I walked over to the window that the sound was coming from and opened it. A shadow jumped into my room and caused me to flinch as it came near me. It rubbed up against my leg, brushing its fur all over me. I realized it wasn't anything to be afraid of, it was only Kadaj.

"Kadaj, what are you doing here?" I asked him. "I don't think Ryou-chan and Kei-chan are going to be happy if they find a fox in their house."

"I'm here to give you something from Orochimaru-sama," he told me. "He said it was important I give you this before the sun came up."

"What?" I reached into the makeshift bag tied around his neck. "Why?"

"I have no idea. He just told me to bring it to you."

"Okay. Well, you'd better get going," I kissed him on the head. "I'll see you soon."

I watched Kadaj climb out the window, dash down the roof, and disappear._ Now what could this be? _I opened the small envelope that had something concealed inside it. _Why do I have to open it before sunrise? _I pulled out a piece of paper and a star shaped crystal that had another gem inside it shaped like a crescent moon. Then I unfolded the piece of paper. It was a note from Orochimaru.

"Akashe, I can only hope that you'll find this crystal of use to you. I've had this for a long time now and I believe you're ready to have it. It belonged to your father and when you were born, he told me to keep it safe for you and to only give it to you when you were ready," I read it aloud. "If you can activate its powers, it will help you greatly. Remember what I've taught you and use it to your advantage. I love you and hope to see you soon."

I sat there with the note in my hand for a while. _How am I supposed to activate its powers, Orochi-sensei? _I looked at the crystal sitting in my lap. _Couldn't you have given me a hint? _Then I remembered that it was, at one point, my father's. He had always done things to make strong and always kept me guessing. That was how he showed his love for me.

"Kaphi, wake up."

"Yes, yes, Mocchi?" he yawned. "What happening?"

"Do you think Ryou-chan is awake right now?"

"Maybe, Kaphi not sure."

"Could you go check for me?"

"Yes, yes."

I walked with Kaphi on my shoulder to the door and opened the door for him. He floated over to Ryou's door, which was open, and went in the room. He came out a moment later and nodded. I grabbed him out of the air and went back in my room. I set him on the bed, picked up the crystal, and went to talk to Ryou.

"Ryou-chan, I need to-" I stopped mid-sentence.

Ryou was standing near his dresser, with one of the drawers opened. He turned to look at me instantly. His eyes were wide and his face was growing more red by the second. I could feel my face getting red, too. I stared at him for a second, looking at every inch of him, then turned to face the door.

"Um, I'll come back later."

I ran out of his room, slamming the door behind me. I entered my room, breathing heavily. _I can't believe. . ._I couldn't think straight. . ._I saw everything. _Kaphi floated over to me questioningly. I looked at him, then fell onto the bed.

"What wrong, Mocchi?"

"Why didn't you tell me he was naked?"

"Kaphi didn't think Mocchi would care."

"Ugh. . ." I sighed. "I can't believe I walked in on him getting dressed."

"Mocchi-chan, is it okay if I come in?" Ryou asked from outside my room. "You said you wanted to talk. What did you want?"

"Come on in."

I sat up as I watched him walk over to me. I couldn't help but stare at him. From what I had seen only a few minutes ago, he had a beautiful body. He was fully dressed, but even now I could see him naked in my mind. I shook the thought from my head as he sat next to me.

"Ryou-chan, sorry, you know, for earlier."

"It's alright, it could have happened to anyone."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"So, what was it you want to talk about? It must be important, the sun isn't even up yet."

"I know."

I pulled out the star crystal and showed it to him. It was shining in the light. I went to hand it to Ryou, but as soon as he touched it, he pulled his hand back. He looked at me in shock and then I saw something that wasn't quite right. His eyes weren't blue anymore.

"Ryou-chan, your eyes," I set the crystal down and grabbed his hand. "They're red."

"Probably because I was up late last night," he told me. "I was looking for something."

"No, they're not bloodshot, they're red. Like my eyes are red."

"What?"

Ryou got up and walked over to the mirror. I followed close behind him. He stared into the mirror with a devastated look. I watched him stand there as he inspected his eyes. I didn't know what had happened and apparently, neither did he.

"Mocchi-chan, this looks really bad, doesn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Blonde hair and red eyes, it looks terrible."

"Ryou-chan. . ." I said in aggravation as I smacked him in the back of his head. "I don't think you should be worrying about how you look!"

"You're right, sorry."

There was a knock. I opened my door to find Keiichiro holding a red and black box. I let him step inside the room and he handed me the box. He looked over at Ryou, who was still looking in the mirror. Then he looked back at with a inquiring gaze.

"Should I even ask what happened?" he frowned.

"It's nothing, Kei-chan," Ryou told him. "Probably just part of the experiment, a late effect or something like that."

"Then why is your hair turning black?" he pointed at Ryou's image in the mirror then crossed his arms. "That's not something that could happen. You know how many times I checked the data."

"Then what could it be? You tell me."

"It's my fault," I interrupted their argument. "It's because of the alien's orb. What he said last night, it makes sense now."

I sighed heavily and put my head down. Ryou and Keiichiro knew that I was right. The alien from last night, his orb, that was what was causing Ryou to change. _Damn it. . . Why did it have to be him?_ I asked myself. _If it had to be anyone, why couldn't it have been me?_ Ryou was in danger and I couldn't do anything about it.

"Mocchi-chan, don't blame yourself," Keiichiro put his hand on my shoulder. "You couldn't have known this was going to happen."

"But I could have stopped it from happening. All I had to do was block that damn orb and this wouldn't be happening," I smacked his hand away and faced him. "Now what are we going to do, Kei-chan? I've got no idea, that's for sure."

"Calm down, Mocchi-chan," Ryou pulled me backwards. "Your fangs are showing."

"Whatever," I went and sat on the bed. "I'm always like this when I first wake up."

"Ryou-kun, I think this is between Mocchi-chan and I now."

"You're right. Help her get ready for work, too, while you're at it."

"Work?" I squeaked. "What?"

Ryou laughed as he walked out the door. He shut the door behind him. I folded my arms and looked at Keiichiro. He had a sincere look on his face and those gorgeous eyes of his were kind. _What am I thinking?_ I shook my head slightly. _Kei-chan is sexy but Orochi-sensei is. . . _All of a sudden Keiichiro was sitting next to me.

"Mocchi-chan, do you want to get dressed before we talk?"

"Huh?" I said as I realized I was still in my pajamas. "Yeah, I do."

"Let me help you."

"What?!"

Keiichiro opened the black and red box that I had completely forgotten about. He pulled out what looked like a maid's dress. It was black with a white heart-shaped apron that tied into a rather large bow in the back. There was a red neck bow on it and shorts to go under it too. A headband with a black stripe on it was tied onto the sleeve for safe-keeping. There were red sock sitting inside the box with a pair of black and red shoes.

"What is that?" I pointed at the outfit.

"It's your café uniform, Mocchi-chan. You'll be working as a waitress at Café Mew Mew from now on," he smiled. "All of the other Mews work there, so you'll get to meet them today."

"You don't seriously expect me to wear that, do you? How long do I have to work?"

"For about four hours is all. So, do you want me to help you with it?"

"Four hours? Fine. But no, you can't help me with the dress. You're a pervert, Kei-chan."

He blushed slightly but kept a straight face. I took the dress from him and went into the bathroom. I hung it on the door while I washed my face and brushed my teeth. Then I put the ensemble on, piece by piece. I put my hair up in ponytails with red ribbons and the headband, did my make-up, and opened up the door.

"What do you think?" I asked Keiichiro when I stepped out. "Does it look alright?"

"It looks wonderful," he said as he clapped his hands together. "I wasn't very sure of your size, does it fit alright?"

"It fits perfectly and it looks a lot cuter on me the than it did in the box, doesn't it?"

"It sure does."

"Toss me the socks."

I caught the socks. But not in my hands. I caught them in my mouth. I spat them out and shivered a little. _What did I just do? _I picked up the socks and put them on. _It was like I playing fetch or something._ I felt like a dog. Then I could feel something weird brushing up against the back of the dress. It was my tail.

"What the hell?" I turned to Keiichiro. "Why is my tail out?"

"Because you caught the socks in your mouth. You're Mew genes are taking effect," he told me as he handed me my shoes. "Because you're animals are both canines, it'll cause you to act more like a dog at times. But don't worry about it too much, Mocchi-chan, both Ichigo-chan and Berry-chan had the same problem at first."

"Who are they, again?"

"Ichigo-chan, the pink Mew Mew, is the former leader of the Mew team. Her animal is the Iriomote Wild Cat. Berry-chan is the white Mew and the new leader. She has two animals, the Amami Black Rabbit and the Andes Mountain Cat."

"Ah. Okay," I pulled the socks on and sat next to him to put my shoes on. "So, they're older than me, aren't they?"

"Actually, they're about the same age as you. Berry-chan is fifteen and Ichigo-chan is sixteen like you are," he told me. "Ichigo's only a few days older than you, actually."

"Really? So I'm not the youngest? How old are the other Mews?"

"Well, Mint-chan and Lettuce-chan are sixteen, Pudding-chan is eleven, Zakuro-chan is eighteen, and Ringo-chan is thirteen."

"So there's a bit of an age range then? That's good," I stood up and Kaphi floated over to me. "I guess I'm ready to go. What about you, Kaphi?"

"Me ready!" he said. "Let's go Mocchi!"

Keiichiro stopped me from heading out the door. The look in his eyes told me I had forgotten something. I did. I laughed at myself and scratched my head. The whole reason he was in my room was to talk to me. I sat down next to him and accidentally put my hand on his. I was about to move it, but he put his other hand on top of it.

"So, uh, Kei-chan, what is it you wanted to talk about?" I could feel my face growing red. "Is there actually something wrong with Ryou-chan."

"You could say that. You see, Mocchi-chan, ever since that day you first came here, Ryou-kun hasn't stopped thinking about you. He says you're his true love."

"What?!"

"That's what he says. Do you remember the cat that appeared when Ryou-kun went missing?"

"Sort of. It was Alto, right?"

"Yes, well, Ryou-kun is Alto. He can change into a cat at will, but if he remains a cat for more than ten minutes, he'll never be able to regain human form."

"And how does he return to human form anyway? I mean, you took him to the basement and then when you came back up he was human again."

"He has to be kissed."

"What?" I wanted to laugh. "So you had to kiss him?"

"Yes, I did. But it was nothing really."

"You've kissed him before, haven't you?" I was a bit suspicious. "Actually, you've done a lot more, right? After all, you two live together and are _always _together. Kei-chan, are you in love with Ryou-chan? Is that why you're telling me all this?"

"What?" Keiichiro was bright red. "That's not why I'm telling you!"

"But you do love him, don't you?"

The room was silent. It bothered me. Silent places were one of the few things that creeped me out. But what bothered me more was Keiichiro's answer. I wanted to know if I was right, but at the same time I hoped that I was wrong. Either way, I doubted I'd be happy with the answer he gave me.

"I love Ryou-kun more than anything on Earth, Mocchi-chan," he said finally. "He and I have been lovers for quite a long time. But as of lately, we have both been looking for somebody new to have relationships with."

"Kei-chan, why does Ryou-chan want me? There are so many other girls he could have."

"Your aura alone is what turned him into Alto three years ago. He thinks that you might be able to free him of the 'cat's curse'. That's why. If it's really what he wants, it's fine with me, you know?."

"That's ridiculous, okay?," I said as I noticed a tear roll down his cheek. "Ryou-chan is having crazy notions of me being able to do _anything_ that will help him."

I used me free hand to wipe away Keiichiro's tears. It pained me to see him crying. I knew it was my fault, in a way, that this was happening. _Ryou-chan only thinks he loves me. _I said to myself. _So if I can get Ryou-chan's feelings towards me to change, then he would go back to Kei-chan, right? _That would be the only way to fix this. _Now I need to deal with the problem in front of me._

"Kei-chan, I don't like Ryou-chan in that way," I told him. "So, really, he's out of luck."

"You don't? Who do you like?"

"Why should that matter?"

"Well, like I said, Ryou-kun and I are both looking for new people."

"Yeah, so what does that have to do with-"

Keiichiro stopped me mid-sentence with a kiss. I thought about pushing him away, but I just couldn't. His kiss was sweet even though it had somewhat been forced on me.

"Ryou's coming!" Kaphi shouted. "Ryou's coming!"

Our lips parted instantly. I jumped up from the bed and stood in the most lady-like position possible, which was a pain since I never was very girly. Keiichiro rubbed his eyes free of the last tears just as Ryou walked in. We looked at each other and then at him. He looked so different with black hair and red eyes, but it didn't look bad on him, either.

"Ready to go, Mocchi-pup?" Ryou asked.

"What did you just call me?" I crossed my arms. "I'm not a damn dog."

"It's just a pet name, calm down."

"Ryou-chan, if you ever call me that again, not only will it be the last time you say anything to me, it'll also be the last time you speak to anyone."

"Is that a challenge?"

Ryou looked at me half-frighteningly. His gaze was intense and I could feel his aura growing more violent. I didn't want to take the chance of him getting himself hurt or having to hurt him myself. He looked at Keiichiro maliciously, thinking I would notice, no doubt. I walked over to him and punched him right in the jaw.

"Do you really want to fight cute little me, Ryou-chan?" I asked him. "That just wouldn't be right."

He turned away and mumbled something. I couldn't hear it, but he was probably cursing me. _Next time he looks at Kei-chan that way, I'll kill him._ I thought. _Wait, what?! _My thoughts were always out of the ordinary, but that was just weird. I grabbed Ryou and put my hand right where I had just hit him.

"Sorry," I said quietly. "Let's go."

He nodded as I let go of him and went over to Keiichiro. I pulled him up off the bed and walked with him and Ryou out of the house, into a garage. We all got into a black sports car and took off to the café. I sat in the back seat quietly so that I could think.

"Mocchi-chan, we're here," Ryou said as he helped me out. "Welcome to Café Mew Mew."

"Right. So, I'll meet you inside," I told him. "I want to ask Kei-chan something."

"All right. Just hurry up," he said as he walked inside the back door.

"Well, how was your 'first' morning in Tokyo, Mocchi-chan?" Keiichiro asked me as he kissed my cheek. Did you enjoy it?"

"I thought it was going to suck, but since I got a kiss, it was _definitely not _such a dog morning."


	4. Chapter 3 Welcome to Cafe Mew Mew

_The New Mews_

_Chapter 3 - Welcome to Café Mew Mew_

"_Come on, let's get inside," Keiichiro said. "It's going to be a rainy day."_

"_Yeah, I can feel it," I kissed his cheek and walked up to the back door. "At least now, I'm allowed to use this door, right?"_

"_Yes, Mocchi-chan."_

_Keiichiro and I entered through the back door. There were seven girls standing next to Ryou. They all had on uniforms similar to mine, but in different colors. They all noticed me walk in and rushed over to me. I felt like they were judging me already. Ryou walked over and had them spread out away from me._

"_Okay, girls, introduce yourselves to Mocchi-chan," Ryou told them. "Please try to remember to tell her your Mew color."_

"_I'm Ichigo Momomiya," a girl with reddish-pink hair came up to me and shook my hand. "I'm the pink Mew Mew, Mew Ichigo."_

"_Hi, I'm Ringo Akai," she was dressed in red and had brown hair tied in a large red bow on her head. "I'm the Red Mew Mew, Mew Ringo."_

"_Hello, I'm Mint Aizawa," said the girl with navy blue hair tied up in odango who was holding another girls arm. "I'm Mew Mint, the blue Mew Mew."_

"_I'm Lettuce Midorikawa, pleased to meet you," the girl with glasses and dark green hair in braids told me. "I'm the green Mew, Mew Lettuce."_

"_Pudding Fon is my name," said the smallest blonde-haired girl. "I'm Mew Mew Pudding, the yellow Mew Mew."_

"_Zakuro Fujiwara," the tallest girl said. She had dark purple hair and had her hair tied back loosely. "Mew Zakuro, the purple Mew." _

"_And I'm Berry Shirayuki," the last, blonde haired girl said in a rather annoying tone. "I'm so happy that I could meet you. I'm Mew Berry, the white Mew Mew."_

_My first impressions of all the girls weren't entirely good. Ichigo was polite but an obvious ditz and Ringo seemed nice even though that bow probably caused accidents when it fell. Mint was snobby, pretty proud of it, too, while Lettuce was shy and it caused her to get picked on. Pudding was more of a hyper little brat than anything and Zakuro seemed like she didn't want to be there because she had better things to do. Berry was the worst though; everything about her just annoyed the hell out of me and I couldn't figure out why._

"_I'm Mocchi Uchiha," I said politely even though it just about killed me. "I am the Black Mew Mew, Mew Mocchi."_

"_Girls, Mocchi-chan is the one we told you about," Keiichiro said. "She's been a Mew as long as you have, just not an active one."_

"_Don't worry, Mocchi-chan, the girls will take care of you," Ryou told me. "You're all a family now, understand? I hope so."_

_Ryou and Keiichiro gave us things to do. He had Berry and I take the chairs off the tables while the others wiped down tables and set placemats and menus. It didn't take very long since there were eight of us, plus the guys. Once the preparations were finished, Ryou opened the front doors and almost immediately, people came in. _

_The other girls and I divided the café into eight sections that we would waitress. Each of our sections had people of all ages. We exchanged glances then got to work. I went to all of my tables and got their orders, then took the tickets to Keiichiro and Ryou who were cooking. _

_As I went back into the dining room, I felt an aura that sent chills down my back. I looked around and saw that my twin brother, Arashi, had just come through the door. Zakuro was the first to reach him and she wanted to seat him. He declined when he saw me and walked over to me. I set down my tray and tablet on an empty table. When he reached me, he hugged me and kissed my cheek._

"_Good to see you, Ara-kun," I said, addressing him without calling him "brother", which was how we were in public. "Why are you here? Does Orochi-sensei need something?"_

"_Not really. I just wanted to see you, Akachan," he smiled. "Is that bad?"_

"_It will be if you call me that again. My name around here is Mocchi."_

"_Well, Mo-chan, I would like to talk to you when you're done working. When do you get off?"_

"_In four hours. Be by the back door," I pushed him towards the door. "Now go do something."_

"_Bye."_

_I watched him leave then went to get the customers orders. All of the food looked delicious. I wanted to try some of it, but decided to wait until I had a break. So far, everything was going pretty good at work. Then a new person sat down at one of the empty tables._

"_Welcome to Café Mew Mew, how may I help you?" I asked him. _

"_Can I have a glass of ice water, please?" he said almost in a whisper. "And a kiss maybe?"_

"_Huh?"_

_I looked up from my notepad and glanced at him. He had long, black hair with wild bangs. His eyes were indigo and he had two eyebrow piercings in his right eyebrow. I noticed a lip ring on the left side of his mouth. His ears were each pierced three times along the sides. His left ear had a twelve-gage in it and there was a dangling black cross in his right ear._

"_I'm Asai Yotobari, I'm from Shinjuku," he said quietly. "You're pretty cute, what's your name?"_

"_My name is Mocchi Uchiha. I'm not from around here either," I smiled. "And thanks. You know, you're kind of cute yourself."_

"_You're joking, right? Most people think I'm a freak."_

"_I'm not 'most people' and you're not a freak. I dress pretty similar to you, so does that make me a freak?"_

"_I guess you're right."_

"_I'll be back with you're water in a second, okay?"_

_I walked back into the kitchen and filled a glass with ice and water. I picked up the other orders as well. The tray was a bit heavy when I picked it up, but I didn't let it bother me. As I walked out to the dining room, I tripped and my tray went into the air. I started falling backwards._

"_Mocchi-chan!" Berry shouted as she ran over and caught the tray with everything on it. "Are you okay, Mocchi-chan?"_

"_Yeah, I'm fine," I stood up and took the tray from her. "Thanks."_

"_No problem."_

_I passed out the food that had been saved from destruction. I was glad that the tray had gotten lighter, too. I handed Asai his glass and he smiled slightly. He was different than all the other guys I had known. Most guys would hit on me and act like jackasses, whereas Asai seemed to be more friendly but he was shy._

"_Are you alright? You didn't get hurt, did you?"_

"_No, I'm perfectly alright. I don't get hurt just from falling."_

"_That's good," he downed the rest of the glass of water. "I have to get going now. But I'll come by tomorrow, okay?"_

"_All right."_

"_Here's the money," he handed me payment for the water. "Keep the rest as a tip."_

"_Okay." _

_I watched him head out the door then collect the money from the empty tables. I took it all back to Ryou then grabbed a dish pan to clean up the tables. When I finished with that, I stopped to look at the clock. An hour had gone by since I had gotten there. I wished that work would go faster so that I could see my brother._

_I continued to waitress for another hour until our lunch break. Ryou and Keiichiro made a special meal for all of us to celebrate my joining the Mew Mews. We all sat on the upper level balcony of the café. I could see the park and the pond nearby. The sight was nice._

"_So, Mocchi-chan," Ichigo turned to me. "Who was that guy that came in and kissed you?"_

"_Was he your boyfriend?" Pudding asked._

"_He thinks he is sometimes," I told them. "He's a really close friend of mine."_

_I wasn't lying to them. Arashi was always my friend, even before we knew that we were siblings. But he never flirted with me until after we had gotten the news. Sometimes he would even hit on me around our mother, who hated my guts. What can I say? My brother was into twincest as much as he was girls and guys. Yes, you heard me right; Arashi was bisexual._

"_So, he's into you, but you don't like him?" Mint asked. "Why don't you like him, he's handsome."_

" _I like him, but it's sort of complicated," I sighed. "Our families are completely against it."_

"_I wouldn't let that stop you," Zakuro told me. "If you like him, who should care? Don't let anybody get in your way, Mocchi-chan."_

"_Yeah, I guess your right."_

_I leaned against the back of the chair and tilted it. I couldn't tell them he was my brother after what he'd done. __I think I just made things worse. Damn it. _I returned to eating my piece of cake when I felt that something was wrong. I stood up and looked around.

"Mocchi-chan, is everything all right?" Lettuce asked me.

"I felt something," I told her. "Zakuro-chan, you felt it too, didn't you?"

"Yes," she answered. "It was strange."

"Ah, the wolves are the first to notice me," an unfamiliar voice said from near the door. "Oh, well, I was hoping Ichigo-chan would have been the first to sense me."

"Kish-kun?" Ichigo looked over. "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing. Just stopped by to tell you that I know the aliens that have been attacking."

"What?!" the girls jumped from the table. "Who are they?"

"They're from you're planet, right?" I asked the green-haired alien. "The vibes I get from you are like the ones I got from the alien last night."

"Huh?" Ringo turned to me. "You fought one of them alone?"

"Not really. He just threw an orb at Ryou-chan and left."

All the girls looked at me. I stood up and walked over to Ryou. I pointed at his hair and then at his eyes. They nodded. Then Kish joined me and examined Ryou.

"This is Die's work," he said. "Mocchi-chan, did he have red hair and wore a lot of black?"

"Yeah. His hair was spiked in the back, too."

"That was Die. He's the mastermind behind all of this. He's got seven others of my race working for him," he said. " I'd be careful if I were you. Die-san won't stop trying to destroy the Mews."

"Of course," I said blatantly. "That's why he threw that orb at Ryou-chan. He's going to use him against us, right?"

"Pretty much."

The others looked horrified. Kish looked at me with a "why do you know these people?" look that made me laugh. Then two other aliens like him joined us. One was tall with dark gray hair while the other was short with reddish-brown hair tied in ponytails.

"Pie-kun!" Lettuce rushed to the tall one.

"Tart-chan!" Pudding went to the other one.

"Hey guys," Kish greeted them. "What's up?"

"Kish-kun, we have to go, now," Pie told him. "Toffee-san is going to be here soon."

"Shit," he replied. "Well, looks like I have to hit the road. See you Mew Mews later."

Kish, Pie, and Tart disappeared. They looked pretty scared when the name Toffee popped up. Naoki was an alien, I was sure. I told everyone to finish eating and clean up. I cleaned up my mess and grabbed Ryou and Keiichiro. I dragged them down to the kitchen, threw my plates in the dishwasher, and questioned them.

"You guys can find out where the alien is, right?"

"Yes, but I don't think there's any reason to worry," Ryou said. "The Mews will take care of it."

"Find the damn alien!" I shouted at him. "Otherwise I'll give you to them!"

"Mocchi-chan, please calm down," Keiichiro told me. "Ryou and I will find it right now."

"Thank you, Kei-chan."

Ryou and Keiichiro went down to the basement. The girls came down to the kitchen and put their dishes in the dishwasher. They all looked at me like I was insane. _What? _I wanted to shout, but decided against it. Shouting wouldn't help right now.

"So, who put you in charge?" Mint asked me snobbishly. "Berry-chan and Ichigo-chan are the leaders of Tokyo Mew Mew."

"Yeah, but I don't play follow the leader very well," I told her. "I highly suggest you just stay out of my way, or else."

"Or else what?" she snapped.

"Or else I'll have to get rid of you like I will the aliens," I smiled sweetly. "I have a really bad anger management problem too, so don't piss me off."

"You damn brat."

Mint went to punch me, but I caught her fist. I pushed her backwards onto the floor and decided to leave her alone. I walked down the stairs into the basement. There were a couple large computers and other scientific tools. Ryou and Keiichiro were at one of the computers.

"What was that upstairs?" Keiichiro asked. "I heard a crash."

"Oh, that? Mint-chan tripped and fell into the counter."

"That's unusual," Ryou said. "Mint-chan never trips."

"There's a first time for everything, Ryou-chan."

"True. Anyway, Mocchi-chan, we found the alien."

"Really, where is it?"

"See that red dot?" Keiichiro pointed to the screen. "That's it."

"But where is that?"

"It's in Tokyo Centre Zoo."

"A zoo? Why?"

"There are more animals to turn into Chimera Anima at the zoo," Ryou told me. "You're going to have your work cut out for you there."

"I can handle it. After all, I can still use my ninjutsu around here, so I'm at an advantage."

"Don't think you're doing this alone, Mocchi-chan. We're sending all of you out."

"Damn it," I said under my breath. "Why?"

Ryou and Keiichiro looked at me. I could tell what they were thinking: _Damn she's stubborn._ So what if I was? It's not like it ever caused anybody harm. Most of the time my stubbornness helped people. But, whatever.

"This will be good for all of you," Ryou said. "This way all of you will know about the enemy."

"Ryou-chan, since I can tell I'm not going to win this one, I'm telling you right now; if they get in my way, I won't hesitate to attack them too."

"Mocchi-chan, how can you say that?" Keiichiro asked. "They're your friends."

"Don't make me laugh, Kei-chan. They're _not_ my friends!" I shouted. "My friends are true fighters that don't rely on magical powers!"

"Mocchi-chan! Don't take it out on him!" Ryou yelled at me. "Go do your job!"

"Fine."

I stormed out of the café and ran to the zoo, Kaphi directing me where to go. The girls were running behind me but pretty far back. I used a hand sign, the dog hand sign as a matter of fact, in an attempt to make myself vanish. It worked and the girls lost sight of me. I ran all the way to the zoo without any of them knowing it.

I entered the zoo and became visible again. _Nothing looks out of the ordinary_, I thought as I looked around. _I'd better be careful, just in case_. I looked around again as I started walking into the center. I could feel something evil coming towards me. I started using hand signs again.

"Summoning Jutsu: Chimaki! Daifuku!" 

I shouted and in a puff of smoke two wolves appeared. They were two of my five pet wolves that helped me on ninja missions. Chimaki was the black one and Daifuku was the red one. They were the two strongest wolves I had and worked well with each other. I gave them 

each a pat on the head and smiled.

"Ready to have some fun boys?" I asked them. "Let's do this."

An alien appeared. He didn't look much different than Kish, except he had a more sinister glare. His hair was caramel and his clothes were an aqua color. I could see that he wore four earrings in each ear. His nails were painted a shade darker than his clothes. He did a flip in mid air and landed a few feet away from me.

"Hey there, my name's Toffee," he introduced himself and bowed. "Pleased to meet you, seeing as how you're not from around here."

"How would you know that? You're not from around here either."

"Yeah, that's true. But I know all about the Mew Mews and none of them can summon animals like you can. So, you must not be one."

"On the contrary, I am a Mew Mew, but I was accidentally turned into one. I'm actually a kunoichi from the ninja village of Otogakure."

"Otogakure? I've never heard of it."

"It's sort of in a different realm. I can't explain it."

"That's okay, I don't think I have the time to listen. I'm on a tight schedule."

"Really?" I laughed. "Well, I guess we better get this over with."

"That would be best. Hurry and transform."

"No, thanks. I'd rather not have to defeat you as a Mew Mew."

"Suit yourself, wolf-girl."

"The name's Mocchi," I told him. "And wolves aren't the only animals I'm good with."

I used another set of hand signs, this time including one that I'd created. I hit the ground hard with my fist and it started bleeding. A silver fox sat between Chimaki and Daifuku. It was my Kadaj. On a side note: Kadaj was one of three foxes I owned and my favorite out of them.

"Meet my fox, Kadaj. Isn't he cute?"

"I guess."

"So, with all these canines around me, the zoo's wolves included, do you really want to fight me?"

"No, actually I don't. I never wanted to come here in the first place."

"Then surrender and be one of the good guys."

"Sure," he threw down his communicator and stepped on it to break it. "Let's go."

"Fine with me," I snapped my fingers so that he and I were at the café and the wolves and Kadaj would be back in Otogakure. "Welcome to Café Mew Mew, Toffee-kun." 


	5. Chapter 4 Explanations

_The New Mews_

_Chapter 4 - Explanations_

_I held onto Toffee's hand as we walked downstairs to the lab. Keiichiro and Ryou looked up from the computers for only a second and went back to work. They both took a second glance instantly and backed up. I could tell just by their expressions that they were surprised and a bit curious. I laughed and let go of Toffee's hand to walk over to them._

"_Ryou-chan, Kei-chan, this is Toffee-kun," I told them. "He's the alien you sent me after, but he didn't cause any damage or anything. I didn't even transform, he came totally willingly."_

"_Is that true?" Ryou looked over at him. "You didn't fight Mocchi-chan?"_

"_Nope. I could tell that she would have kicked my ass just by looking at her," he smirked. "That and I never wanted to do to that zoo in the first place. Fighting just isn't my thing."_

"_Well that's certainly a relief," Keiichiro said. "So, you're going to join us then?"_

"_Pretty much. Unless you guys think I'm a threat."_

"_Toffee-kun, don't say that," I told him. "You're definitely not a threat. You're too lazy."_

"_What was that?" he asked angrily. _

"_Well, you are. I mean, you didn't even bother trying to make a Chimera or anything."_

"_So? Maybe I didn't feel like it."_

"_Which means you're lazy."_

"_Damn!"_

"_I win."_

"_This time, Mocchi-chan." _

_There was a loud sound up in the dining room. It was the girls running towards the stairs. I rolled my eyes and turned to Ryou__. I can't believe he puts up with those brats, _I thought. _I would've killed them, or myself, by now_. Then watching the girls come down the stairs in their colorful Mew Mew forms sparked my memory.

"Ryou-chan, you never told me about the light from last night. Or the face that I saw," I said to him as I sat down in an office chair. "You told me you'd tell me today."

"That's right, I did. Well, I guess I should tell you now."

The girls undid their transformations and then sat down in chairs around the room. They stared at Toffee for a few minutes without realizing who he was. The Ichigo and Berry stood up and pointed at him at the same time. They were in perfect unison with each other when they screamed, too. Toffee and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

"You're the alien we were supposed to defeat!" Berry shrieked. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm on your side," he told her. "I didn't even cause any trouble for you anyway, so why are you screaming like the stupid blonde girl on a horror movie?"

"Nice one," I congratulated him. "That's better than what I was thinking."

"Thanks."

"You're a jerk, you know that?" Ichigo said to him angrily. "I can't believe you're on our side with the way you talk. You'd better be nicer."

"Or what, Pussycat? Are you going to scratch me to death?"

"Okay, Toffee-kun, that's enough," I nudged him with my elbow. "Ichigo-chan has a temper."

"How would you know?" she yelled at me. "You just met all of us this morning."

"I know because of the way you're acting right now," I told her blatantly. "You're telling him to be nice while you're yelling. How about you practice what you preach?"

"Mocchi-chan, could I talk to you?" Keiichiro asked me. "In private?"

"Of course, Kei-chan."

Keiichiro took me into the kitchen. He had a serious look on his face and I could tell he wasn't happy. I looked away from him for a few minutes. Then I took a deep breath and decided to face him. I knew I did something wrong but didn't know what.

"Mocchi-chan, I don't think you're going to get the girls to like you with the way you're acting."

"Maybe I don't want them to like me. I don't like them, so why should they like me?"

"You're all a team, that's why. You have to get along with them and that alien isn't helping."

"At least Toffee-kun isn't trying to destroy anything," I told him. "You and I both know what's happening to Ryou-chan. He's going to end up on the aliens' side and he'll try to destroy not just Tokyo, but all of Japan."

"Mocchi-chan, I want you to go back to the mansion. We'll talk about this later."

"Why should I? I'm a part of this now."

"Then start acting like it!"

Keiichiro yelled at me harshly. I could feel his anger surging inside him and turned away from him. I started to run to the back door. I had to get away from him, from everyone. No one understood the way I was and they never would. _People say that to understand someone, they must open up to you. If you don't open up to them, how will they understand you?_ Those words ran through my mind as I slammed the door open and jumped the stairs. _If you open up more, expressing your feelings won't be so hard. Then you might have more friends and more people will care about you._

"You were wrong, Orochi-sensei. When I open up to people, they take advantage of me," I said to myself. "I can't open up to anyone around here. They don't understand what it means to be a ninja. Showing your tears to someone you don't really know is like showing your weakness to your enemy, isn't that what you taught me?"

The ground started to shake and I could feel two presences. One was that of Orochimaru and the other was Arashi. But Arashi's was far away compared to Orochimaru's. The ground cracked between my feet and I jumped back. Orochimaru stood in front of me.

"Orochi-sensei!" I jumped into his arms. "Orochi-sensei, I missed you!"

"I missed you too, my precious Akashe-chan," he wrapped his arms around me tightly and protectively. "Why are you so upset?"

"I can't really explain it. I just, just can't open up to those girls. They're so annoying and perky and so, so nice," I could feel tears forming in my eyes. "They're not like anyone I've ever known or ever want to know. I want some one here who's like me."

"Akashe-chan," he half laughed, half sighed. "I would help you if I could, but this isn't in my jurisdiction. You have to learn how to interact with different types of people."

"Then you need to learn not to prey on teenage boys with long hair."

"If you mean your brother, I told you I-"

"Relax, I'm joking," I rubbed my face on his chest like a dog to wipe away a few tears. "But you need to help me out a bit more here. I can't learn all this by myself."

"I'll do what I can. But for now, you need to go it alone. At least for a couple of days," he got down on one knee and gave me a reassuring look. "Do you think you can do that for me?"

"I'll do my best," I smiled and hugged him again. "You'd better get back to Otogakure before someone sees you."

"I suppose you're right. The whole 'kimono with purple rope' thing stands out, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but at least you don't look like a pedophile."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, seeing as how you're no longer in your original fifty-plus year old body, and in a new, I'd say about eighteen year old body, you actually look the right age for me."

"You're getting good. This body was from a very generous eighteen year old chuunin," he said. "I'd better get going, Akashe-chan. See you soon."

Orochimaru kissed my cheek and disappeared_. He came just to cheer me up. I can't believe it,_ I thought. _He never does stuff like that. Could this be a new side of him? _Then I remembered this morning. _Does he know that I have feelings for Kei-chan?! No, he couldn't possibly- could he?_ My train of thought was then cut off by the most annoying sound on earth.

"Arashi-nii, I'm going to kill you!" I spun around and grabbed him by the collar. "You know how much I hate when you use that dog whistle!"

"Sorry, Akachan. It's not my fault you can hear it, you know. I just thought you could use something to snap you out of it."

"Out of what?"

"You were totally dazed when Orochi-sensei left," he laughed. "By the way, I want to know, how much do you really like him?"

"What?!"

"How much do you like Orochi-sensei?"

"Why?"

"Because it's obvious to me that you're his world. He got that nice, young body just for you, you know. He wishes he were really that young so that he could always be with you. He's sort of like me if you think about it. He loves you, and I love you."

"Yeah, but you love me in a disturbing incestral kind of way. He's no relation to me so it's a perfectly natural, untainted love."

"Now you're just getting philosophical, aren't you?"

"Yeah, so?"

Arashi laughed at me. He was right though, when it came to love and romance, I was very philosophical and daydreamed a lot. But that's what any girl my age would do, right? I threw my shoe at Arashi and hit him in the stomach so that he would stop laughing. He gave me a threatening glare and threw the shoe back at me.

"Put your damn shoe back on so that I can get you home."

"Home? You don't mean back to Otogakure, do you?"

"No. I'm taking you back to the mansion."

"Oh. Okay. Let's go."

Arashi and I started to walk to the mansion. He tried several times to wrap his arm around me but failed each time. After a while, I grabbed his hand so that he could hold mine on the way there. It was the least I could do and it made him smile. I loved seeing my brother happy, even though sometimes I had to do the most awkward stuff.

We got to the front gate of the mansion and he let go of my hand. We stood there for a minute or two. He grabbed me and kissed me, right on the lips. I pushed him backwards and wiped off my mouth. I couldn't believe he did that.

"What the hell, Ara-kun?" I shouted, wary of someone being around. "You're sick."

"So maybe I am, what are you going to do, Mo-chan? It's not like we're related or anything."

"What?" I pulled him into the yard and whispered. "What do you mean? Explain yourself!"

"Mother pulled a trick on us. When you came here, ties to the ninja world were cut off. All your blood ties were cut anyway. You and I aren't siblings again until you return to Otogakure."

"You're joking, right?" I stared at him in disbelief. "That woman will do anything to make you happy and me miserable, wont she?"

"Pretty much. But she's your mother too, not just mine."

"I know, even though she hates me and rarely even lays eyes on me."

"Well, it's getting ready to rain," he pointed up to the sky. "Get inside and stay warm. I'm going back to Otogakure for a little while. I'll be back in a few days."

"Okay. See you later."

I walked inside the mansion and took my shoes off. I realized that I was still in my café uniform and ran to the kitchen, carrying my shoes. I cleaned the bottoms and sides of them off and set them near the front door to dry. Then I ran upstairs and changed into jeans and a t-shirt.

I hung all parts of the uniform up on the hanger the way they were this morning. I let my hair down and threw the hair ties on the bathroom counter. I walked over to my bed where I found a plush toy I'd never seen before. It was a black and red fox plush. I picked it up and inspected it for a minute or so. On the tag was the toy's name: Monju.

"Monju? That's a type of rice cake, isn't it?" I asked myself. "Filled with red bean paste if I'm right."

I set the plush back on my bed and headed downstairs. I heard Ryou and Keiichiro enter the house. But what bothered me was that they we're yelling at each other and arguing. I walked into the kitchen, where they had gotten to before I was completely down the stairs. They were standing on opposite sides of the table. I sat down quietly in a chair between them.

"What are you guys arguing about?" I asked calmly. "It isn't about something stupid is it?"

"Ryou-kun wants to shut down the Mew Project!" Keiichiro told me. "We can't do that."

"Yes we can! We have to before someone gets hurt!" Ryou yelled at him. "It's not like we need any more Mews."

"More Mews?" I asked him. "This is about that light I saw, isn't it? That light created more Mew Mews, didn't it, Ryou-chan?"

"Yes, it did. But it wasn't supposed to happen. The Mew Project, let's just say, it exploded."

"What?!" I squeaked. "How in the hell did it explode?!"

"We had too much animal DNA in the machine," he told me. "It was only a matter of time before it happened. But if the DNA has already been injected into compatible people, they'll be turning into Mew Mews any time now."

"So, let me guess," I sighed. "I have to find the new Mews."

"Yes, but you're going to do it alone."

"What?"

"Since you and the others don't get along, we decided that you'll be doing this alone. They'll be working at the café while you're finding the new Mew Mews," Keiichiro said. "But when you find these Mews, you'll be working with them."

"Fine with me, Kei-chan, but Ryou-chan is right. You guys have to shut down the Mew Project until I find these Mews. Which, by the way, how many are there?"

"We're not sure. There could be only a few or there could be hundreds," he sighed heavily. "But luckily we designed Kaphi with a sensor that will only pick up the Mew Mew powers whether they're in use or not. So he's going to be with you at all times."

"Kaphi with Mocchi! Kaphi with Mocchi!" Kaphi floated over to me from Keiichiro's pocket. "Does Mocchi want to find Mew Mews tonight?"

"Not tonight," I patted him on the head. "We'll start tomorrow."

"Kay-Kay."

Kaphi shrunk himself and sat on my shoulder. I looked back to Ryou and Keiichiro, who still looked like they wanted to argue. I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair. I felt my back crack and sat back up. It felt so much better now.

"If you guys start arguing again, I'm going to smack both of you. I don't care who starts it."

I got up and walked back up to my room. _They're both older than me and yet I'm the mature one,_ I thought. _Why did I think staying with them would be good? I already pissed them both off this morning. What the hell am I going to do? _I flopped onto my bed and picked up Monju.

"Kaphi, do you know where this came from? It was on my bed when I came home."

"From factory? It not real fox."

"I know that. I meant who put it here. It couldn't have been Ryou-chan or Kei-chan because they weren't in here without me this morning and they just got home."

"Kaphi doesn't know. Kaphi sorry."

"It's alright. But I want to know who put it here."

There was a tap at my window. I went over and opened it to see what was making the sound. A black cat with a pink and purple collar jumped into my room. I closed the window behind it to keep out the rain. The cat sat on my bed, dripping wet.

"No, no, no, kitty. Off the bed."

"That's no kitty," Ryou entered my room. "That's Kisachi-san."

"Huh?"

The cat hissed at Ryou and jumped to me. I caught it and it licked my bottom lip. Then a cloud of smoke came from nowhere. I couldn't see, but I could feel that the cat was no longer in my arms. When the smoke cleared, I found that I was holding an older boy in my arms.

"What the hell?" I shoved the boy backwards. "Who the hell are you?"

"Mocchi-chan, do you remember how I turned into Alto when we met?" Ryou asked me. "This guy, Kisachi-san, is pretty much the same way. Except he parades around as a cat most of the time."

"Yeah, I kind of have to, Ryou-kun. I'm not supposed to be in Tokyo," Kisachi said to him as he got up. "So, you're Mocchi-chan? You've grown up."

"How do you know me, Kisachi-san?"

Ryou put his hand over Kisachi's mouth just as he was about to answer me. They stared at each other for a while before Ryou pushed him out my door. Then he returned to me and hugged me tightly. _What's going on? _I thought. _How does that guy know me? _I looked up at Ryou with a questioning gaze.

"Okay, explain who that guy is."

"Well, you see, Mocchi-chan, Kisachi-san is the one who turned you into a Mew Mew," Ryou told me. "While you were looking at the animal statue in the back room of the Café, he hit the button to inject the Mew genes into you."

"Well, I've got to thank him," I said sarcastically. "Because this isn't what I needed."

"Don't kill him, he's a Mew too."

"Ah, okay. I'll just make him wish he hadn't turned me into a Mew."

Ryou shook his head sideways and sighed. He hugged me tighter. Suddenly I felt calm and had a warm sensation come over me. _Why is this happening? I feel like I'm floating. _I thought to myself. _Is this Ryou-chan's aura? No, this is the same feeling I got when I held Toffee-kun's hand, just on a higher level. This has something to do with the alien powers. _I wanted to push away from Ryou, but couldn't.

"Let me hold you," he said. "I want you to stay in my arms just a little while longer."

I couldn't speak. Or rather, I couldn't find anything to say. What could I have said? No one had ever said something like that to me, not even Orochimaru. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. He wanted to hold me, so I let him.

"Mocchi-chan, I'm going to leave," he said when he let go of me. "I have to get away from you and Kei-chan for a while."

"What? Why?"

"I'm afraid I'm going to hurt one of you now that the alien's orb is taking more of an effect," he turned and started walking to the door. "I'm sorry, but this is for your safety."

"I don't understand, Ryou-chan," I grabbed him by the wrist and hugged him. "You won't hurt anyone, I know you. Even under the alien's power there's no way you would harm one of us. You cant leave us. I won't let you."

"Mocchi-chan," he winced and left. "This feeling is telling me to go now. I just can't explain it."


	6. Chapter 5 Old Friends

_The New Mews_

_Chapter 5 - Old Friends_

_I sat in my room alone for hours, crying. I felt like dying, like I should be dead. There was nothing that I could do about Ryou, he was gone. I got up off my bed and walked out into the hallway. I needed to do something to get my mind off what had just happened._

_Keiichiro came up the stairs just as I got to them. He looked at me with sad, sorrowful eyes. It was obvious that he had been crying as well. He grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug. He kissed the top of my head and sighed._

"_Mocchi-chan, what are we going to do?" he asked me._

"_I wish I knew, Kei-chan," I said. "I have something I have to do right now. But I'll be back as soon as possible, I promise."_

"_Alright, be careful."_

_Keiichiro kissed my cheek and walked with me to the front door. I hugged him tightly then left. Even though it was pitch black outside, I was headed to a graveyard that had called out to me when I was headed back to the mansion earlier. I'd felt a strange sensation when I had passed it, like it wanted me to be there. I had to go there to see what wanted me._

_I approached the wrought iron gate slowly. It was old and covered in ivy vines that were dying. __Who knew that there were still places like this in Tokyo? _I asked myself. _This cemetery must be at least a century old. _I opened the gate quietly and walked down a brick path that was barely visible except for the light of the moon shining on it. 

"Summoning Jutsu: Five Wolf Summons!" I shouted as I did hand signs.

All five of my wolves appeared in front of me. Chimaki, Daifuku, Kinako, Kagami, and Kusa were lined up in a row. Kinako was brown, Kagami was pure white, and Kusa was gray. They weren't as strong as Chimaki and Daifuku, but were very protective of me and always stayed close to me. I sent all of the wolves out in front of me and we walked.

We were probably at the edge of the cemetery when I saw the moon's reflection shining off water. I decided it was time for a break and whistled for the wolves. They all came over to me and I patted each of their heads. Then I snapped my fingers to send them back to Otogakure. I sat next to the edge of the water and stared up at the moon. Just looking at it made me happy.

"Akashe-chan, is that you?" a familiar voice said behind me. "It really is you."

"Ka-," her hand went over my mouth.

"Don't call me that around here," she said as she removed her hand. "They don't know I left, that's why my hair is black now and I changed my eye color. Call me Suika."

"Okay, Suika-chan, what are you doing here?"

"I was hanging out here last night and some weird light hit me. It turned me into a Mew Mew."

"Really? That's interesting because I'm a Mew too. I've been one since the last time I came to Tokyo, but I never knew it."

"Great. We're two kunoichi stuck in Tokyo as Mew Mews," she huffed. "So, what name did you take on here anyway?"

"Mocchi," I told her. "Mocchi Uchiha."

"You picked that name?"

"Well, I'm Mew Mocchi, so go figure. If you picked Suika, then you're Mew Suika, right?"

"Yep. I'm Suika Hino here. I need to find the guy responsible for the Mew Mews so that I can return to normal."

"That's not possible," I told her, looking down. "Ryou-chan is gone."

"What do you mean he's 'gone' ?"

"He walked out on us," I sighed. "There was a fight with one of the aliens and he got hit with an orb. It turned his hair black and his eyes red and he's probably with them now."

Telling her about what had happened hurt. It made me want to break down and cry again, but I wasn't about to let that happen. Suika must have known what was going through my mind because she looked concerned. She sat next to me on the ground and made serious eye contact.

"So, Mocchi-chan, how are things with you and Orochimaru-san?" she smiled. "It's been so long since you left Konoha to serve him. We haven't spoken in what feels like ages."

"It's been three years since I left, Suika-chan. Remember the day we became chuunin?"

"Yeah, you were going around hugging everybody. You even gave Arashi-kun a kiss on the cheek, which made us all know something was going to happen. But we never saw you again after that day and Arashi-kun kept disappearing every month."

"He came to see me. Surprisingly, Orochi-sensei let him come and go as he pleased. It was only later I found out that he was having Arashi-nii spy on Konoha."

"And that's why you were found in Kirigakure two weeks before Kakashi-sensei and his team arrived there," she said with an annoyed tone. "You even befriended the guy Kakashi-sensei killed with his infamous Chidori."

"His name was Haku, you know. He was really sweet and he didn't deserve to die."

"You don't think anyone should die, do you?"

I was silent for a few minutes. She had me. I didn't think anyone deserved to die, even if they had killed someone. Besides, being a ninja, it didn't matter if you'd killed someone. It was just the ninja way of life. _Sometimes we have to kill, to save the people we love,_ I thought. _It's not like I haven't killed anyone before. But I did it because it was an order, not because I had to. _I shook my head and looked back over to Suika.

"No, not really. But if it came down to killing a person or losing the person I cared most about, I'd totally slash their throat," I said laughing. "I'd gut them if it was the only way to stop them."

"You're disturbingly obscene!" she shouted. "If that's the way you see it, then answer me this."

"Okay, ask away."

"If Orochimaru-san and Arashi-kun were fighting and the only way to stop them was to kill one of them, who would you kill?"

"That's not fair!" I whined. "You can't use my brother and my -"

"Your what? Don't tell me you were going to call Orochimaru-san your lover!"

"Yeah, I was, as a matter of fact."

"That's beyond disgusting. He's, like, over thirty years older than you."

"Only in mind."

"You mean he's got another body?"

"Yep, one that's from an eighteen year old chuunin."

"Did he tell you who it was from?"

"No. I don't really think it matters."

"I bet you it was a Leaf ninja."

"Who cares?"

After a few minutes of being on our way to an argument, we both jumped up at the sound of footsteps. We saw figures coming towards us. They had somewhat familiar outlines, but what really made me recognize them was their scents. The girl smelled like plum, which gave away her identity instantly, and the two boys both smelled like spices used in ramen.

"You're the waitress from Café Mew Mew, aren't you?" the girl asked me. "Why are you out here?"

"I waited on you today, right? You're name is Ume Toudou ."

"Yes, that's right. Do you remember these two?" she pointed at the boys she was with. "They were with me earlier."

Yes, the red haired one is your older brother, Odango, and the one with streaked hair in his face is Soba Tendo, one of Odango's friends."

"Wow, your pretty good," Soba said to me while looking at Suika. "But if you'd use your real senses, you'd realize just who I really am. Scents can be disguised, remember?"

"I don't believe it. Why are you here?"

"I'm here to retrieve a certain runaway sister standing next to you, but last night there was a really colorful and bright explosion-"

"And you got hit by it," I cut him off. "So now you're a Mew Mew."

"Yes, how did you know?" he asked me.

"I was hit by the same thing last night, Nii-san," Suika told him. "I felt Akashe-chan's aura when I got out of Mew form so I stuck around. She's a Mew too."

"So, you all know each other?" Ume asked. "Is there something going on?"

"You and Odango are Mews too, aren't you?" I asked her as she nodded. "It's all because the Mew Project exploded. If Ryou-chan wasn't gone, I'd take you all to him. But he's disappeared and I can't do anything about it."

"It's no big deal," Soba smiled. "I'll just have to stick around here for a while. But Suika-chan is coming with me."

"Fine, as long as I'm not leaving Tokyo," Suika said. "Otherwise, I swear I'll-"

"Suika-chan, shut up and go with him," I yelled at her. "Ume-chan, Odango-kun, I think you two should go home as well. We should all meet at the café tomorrow at noon."

Everyone nodded and we split up. I headed back to the mansion, half running because I had no idea what time it was. Along the way, I felt Arashi's aura coming towards me. _And the only way to stop them was to kill one of them, who would you kill? _Suika's words came to mind as I saw Arashi running to me. I couldn't bear to think of killing my brother or Orochimaru.

"Arashi-nii," I hugged him when he reached me. "Arashi-nii, did you know that Hino-chan and Tendo-kun are here?"

"Yeah, I knew that. I saw them last night, but they didn't see me," he laughed as he hugged me back. "So, what happened now? You never hug me without reason."

"Something that Hino-chan said to me, it really makes me worry, but I'd rather not talk about it."

"Then don't talk about it. If you just want to cry on my shoulder about it, go ahead."

"That isn't even funny," I shot him a dirty look. "I can't reach your shoulder standing up. I haven't been able to for almost a year now."

"Oh, right. I forgot that I'm taller than you now. I never used to be."

Arashi and I went to sit down at a bench. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close to him. My heart pounded heavily in my chest. _Why am I feeling like this? _I asked myself. _I'm sitting with my brother for god's sake. I'd understand if I was with someone else, but with this pain in the ass? _I rolled my eyes at myself and leaned up against him.

"Arashi-nii, are you positive that our mother cut all my ties to the ninja world?"

"Yes."

"And my ties to you and her? Are they as good as gone?"

"You're pretty much the last person on Earth that we'd be related to now. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's because I think I might be in-"

Suddenly there was a loud explosion and people screaming. I hopped off the bench and transformed into a Mew Mew. I started running towards flames and smoke and completely forgot about Arashi until he was running right next to me. I pushed him behind me as I stopped.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked him. "You're not coming with me. This isn't like the ninja world; if people see you pulling off Jutsu they're going to think you're a freak. At least they know about the Mew Mews."

"Fine, I won't help you," he said as she kissed my cheek. "But I'm still coming, just in case."

"Whatever, do what you want," I told him, realizing I was blushing. "Let's hurry up."

Arashi and I ran as fast as we could, side by side. We reached a small building that was enshrouded in flames. I could tell that there were still people inside and took in a deep breath of courage. I kicked open the door and ran into the fire. I heard Arashi call out my name and tell me to stop, but I wasn't about to do what he said.

I found two small twin children and their father crouching in the corner. I grabbed the children and offered the man my hand, but he refused. He told me to take the children and leave him. But I couldn't do that. I'd lost my father in a fire at a young age, I didn't want these kids to end up the way I did. I refused to do so, then a fiery board fell behind me.

"Just go!" he shouted at me. "Save them, please!"

"I can't leave you here to die!"

"I'll take him," a boy Mew Mew appeared beside me. "You save the twins."

I did what the boy said. I ran out of the house with the children in my arms. _He looked exactly like me, _I thought as I set the twins down far away from the building. _He was just a twin of my Mew form. _I saw the male Mew drag out the father, then disappear. 

The fire department arrived in a few minutes. I figured it was okay to go find Arashi, so I started to walk around. I found him sitting up in a large maple tree about fifty feet away. I threw a rock at him, but he caught it and jumped down from the tree. He looked at me sternly right before he slapped me across the face which caused me to fall backwards into wet grass.

"What the hell was that for?" I shouted at him as I returned to normal form and stood up.

"It was for being a god damned fool!" he yelled back at me. "What if you hadn't been able to get out? I already lost my father to a fire, I don't need to lose my twin sister to another one!"

"You weren't as effected by Dad's death as I was! I'm the one that lived with him and was raised by him! I'm the one that watched the house go up into flames!" I kept shouting at him, feeling tears roll down my cheeks. "I saw him die, Arashi-nii! Do you have any idea what it's like to watch someone you love die like that?"

"You're such a bitch sometimes," he said calmly. "I want you to know that."

Arashi grabbed me tightly and pulled me into a hug. I felt a tear fall onto my head and I knew he was crying too. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his chest. _I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry._ The words kept repeating themselves in my head. _I never meant to make you cry, but I just can't seem to stop myself. _Those were the words that my brother had said to me so many years ago.

"Arashi-nii, I want you to know something," I looked up at him and wiped my tears away.

"What is it, Akachan?"

"I love you."

I pulled his face to mine and kissed him gently. It didn't matter right then and there, he wasn't my brother in this world. I broke the kiss and stared up at him. He was smiling, but not like he'd ever smiled before. His smile was happy, yet sad at the same time. He and I had the same thought in mind now. There was no way on Earth this would go on forever, no matter how much we wanted it to.

"I guess you won't be calling me 'Arashi-nii' anymore, will you?"

"Well, you can't call me 'Akachan' anymore."

"You're right. I can't. But anyway, you need to get home soon."

"I know. Kei-chan is probably worried about me. He's all alone right now."

"Then you'd better get back to him, Akashe-chan."

"Arashi-kun, I expect you to be waiting for me tomorrow night."

"I'll be here as soon as the sun sets."

"Isn't that sweet?" a harsh female voice said. "Too bad it won't last once you return to Otogakure."

I saw one of my friends from Konohagakure come towards us. She was wearing a gold, yellow, and brown Mew outfit. She had a lion's tail and ears to go with it. Her dark brown hair was fluffed out and looked like a lion's mane. When she got closer, I saw that not much about her had changed in the few years I hadn't seen her.

"Curry-chan is a Mew Mew too?" I asked her childishly. "That's interesting."

"Shut it, Akashe-chan. This isn't funny," she hissed. "I'm stuck here with you, Hino-chan, and Tendo-kun until your mission is done."

"Awkward," Arashi laughed. "So, you saw the whole kiss thing, huh?"

"Yeah, and might I say 'wow!'. That was the weirdest and most disturbing love scene that I've ever laid my eyes on."

"You weren't supposed to see it in the first place."

"Yeah, well, I did. Any who, Akashe-chan, go home. You have things to do tomorrow and don't worry, I'll find you."

Curry snapped her fingers and disappeared. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Arashi who had also rolled his eyes. He looked at me with an odd face and I laughed. I hugged him again and grabbed his hand. We started walking back to the mansion.

"Why are you friends with Ohda-chan again?" he asked me. "She's got a really bad attitude."

"And I don't? The reason we're friends is because we both have bad attitudes."

"Yeah, but you're not as bad as she is. Almost, but not quite."

"Whatever. I definitely have to get home though."

"Why don't you just snap us there?"

"Because I didn't think about it," I said as I snapped. "But thanks for the idea."

We were right in front of the mansion now. I stuck my tongue out at him for a minute before I hugged him. He squeezed me tightly and kissed the top of my head. I looked up at him with a "Why the hell did you do that?" look and he laughed. He kissed me softly and let go of me.

"See you tomorrow then?" he asked.

"Of course. Right after sunset."

"See you then, Akashe-chan."

Arashi disappeared into the night as I walked inside. I looked at the clock and thought I was going to faint. It was already after two in the morning! I walked into the kitchen after taking my shoes off and found Keiichiro sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in his hands. He and I made eye contact and his gaze was like staring death in the face. _Oh my god, he's going to kill me, _I thought. _He's probably so pissed off right now._ I sat down directly across from him at the table.

"Hello, Kei-chan," I said in a meek tone. "Did you wait up for me?"

"Yes, I did," he replied. "Did you have fun?"

"I guess, I found five new Mew Mews and I'm meeting up with them at noon."

"That's good. So, what are their names?"

"There was Suika-chan, Ume-chan, Odango-kun, Soba-kun, and Curry-chan."

"Two of them were boys? That's interesting," he said to himself. "Anyway, Mocchi-chan, you need to get to bed. It's very late."

"I know, Kei-chan," I got up from the table and walked over to him. "I'm going right now."

I kissed Keiichiro on the cheek and smiled. I turned and walked to the stairs where I saw a shadowy figure awaiting me at the top of the stairs. I ran up to the second floor to confront it, but it disappeared right before my eyes. _What the hell was that? _I asked myself. _There's no way it could have been a spirit, right? _I blinked a few times, trying to figure out what I saw, but it was inexplicable. A chill went down my spine as I turned away.

I walked straight through my room to the bathroom. I had to pee badly after being outside all night. Afterwards I changed into my pajamas and washed my face. I went and fell into my bed.


End file.
